11yr old son(pitching)

Question
Hi Sean, my 11yr old son Evan has been playing baseball for quite a while. He has been playing travel ball for the past 1 1/2. They primarily wanted him for his pitching, he reaches 63-65mph on radar and he has several pitches already developed, fastball change-up and curve but he throws it where he dosen't hurt his arm. My concern is I don't want him to be a one dimensional player, he plays first base but that's very rare and he also is a switch hitter, same outcome. I've talked to the coaches and they agreed on the opportunities to let him hit left, but nothing has come of it and playing other positions, well, what can I say! What can I do to develop him without disrupting the team or him?

Answer
Ron,

This is becoming more and more common with the emergence of travel teams instead of Little League teams. Since these teams search for 12-15 of the best players they can find, often players are turned into one dimensional players.

There are three things you can do. The first is the easiest, find a travel team which better fits his needs and wants as a player.

Secondly, you can seek out private lessons with a hitting/fielder instructor to at the very least keep his skills at a high level until someone lets him play the field. Depending on your location, there are many of these places available. Many of which are taught by former or current professional players.

The third option is to bring him to a field, and let him take batting and fielding practice as often as he can. Again keeping his skills as sharp as possible.

I do suggest keeping all his skills as sharp as you can, since we do not know at 11 years old what position will be his strongest when he reaches high school, or even for college. My suggestion would be finding a different team for him if at all possible.

Sean